The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Daniel Cormier TV - Daniel Cormier & Ben Askren on Conor McGregor at White House, Jon Jones NOT READY, Pereira-Ankalaev

Episode Date: March 19, 2025

Ben Askren IS BACK for another brand new edition of the Funky and the Champ show with Daniel Cormier! DC and Ben give their take on the viral moment where Conor McGregor showed up to the White House Monday to visit Donald Trump on St. Patrick's Day. Check out Askren and Cormier debate whether or not they feel McGregor will ever fight again, and if he in fact makes a good politician. Plus, news broke that Jon Jones needs six more months to get ready for his potential fight with Tom Aspinall, and the guys give their fresh thoughts on that news. And don't miss Ben and DC dive into the Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev fight at UFC 313, the ESPN vs. Netflix PPV rights for the UFC, the NCAA Wrestling tournament, and much more! #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Hit that promo cool, guys. 30% off of some of the best meat you ever going to taste. The real deal. Let's go. Hey, Ben. It's been a while. Yo, what was the last time we did a show? I feel like it's been more than the normal two weeks.

I can look back maybe three weeks or four weeks, but it's all good. It's wrestling season. We're really busy. I get it. I thought Luis canceled us. I almost, you know what? I almost texted you about doing just like an NCAA previews show just because, you know, it would be fun. And, you know, we like talking about wrestling.

We should have done that. That's something we should have done. Hey, I thought, I thought, I actually thought Louise canceled us. I thought he got a call from the higher up. It was like, fucking the jam's over. No, no, no, no. Cancel. They can't do that anymore.

We talked about this on the last show. Hey, do you remember? Do you remember? We started this a while ago. Dude, we started this show. Yeah. I mean, 2023? Yeah, it's been over a year and a half.

We started doing fucking a jam. Do you know that they made us do a proof of concept? Do you remember that old? I do remember that. Well, you had a, I remember the first time I came on, you wanted to do something called like three rounds or something. I still do that. I do that still.

It does well still. Well, we would have went three rounds arguing going back and forth. I do that myself. I need to get back to doing that. That takes some time, right? You got to write scripts and all this other stuff. But for Funkie and the champ, we had to do a proof of concept.

They made us do five shows to see if it worked before they would start to pay you and everything. Do you remember that? You don't remember that? Our first show, Louise is saying, was December 12, 2022. That's wild, huh?

That's crazy. We've done two years of Funkin' the champ. That's crazy. And also, it's been fun but it's not hard to do a show whenever it's stuff like

this happens yes bro Connor is a politician dog though too funny I'm gonna

I want you know I've got to pat myself on the back since our first show probably December 12 2022 I've been saying

the dude ain't gonna fight again I've been saying it for a really long time I think it's more likely now than ever. He's in the White House being a politician. I like what he juiced up Trump. He's like, man, I can't do an Irish accent, so I'm not even going to try, but he's like,

I like your work ethic. I'm inspired by your work ethic. Like, he was juicing Trump up. It was awesome. You know what was the craziest thing about it? You know what's the craziest thing about it? What's that? You watched it. Like, you actually watched it? What are you doing? No, I watched the highlights on Twitter.

You know that. That's what I did. Bro, what are you doing watching it? Oh, you don't listen You don't think that what I said was funny? Like he was juicing Trump up He's very funny But I'm saying like I'm inspired by your work at

Why are you watching Conno McGregor's press conference? Why are you watching it? No, it was him and Trump Not the press conference It was him and Trump It was great He was inspired He was inspired by Trump's work ethic

Bro, so I saw I saw I saw Khanna McGregor His picture And I was like Wait, where's he at? so then I scroll down and I see that he was at the White House

I said this has to be some kind of joke right because it looked like he was holding a press conference at the White House he did that too yes I believe and I just was like first I was like oh my God why is he at the White House like what's going on here

and then I started to think oh my God Ben and I are doing our show tomorrow he's going to pat himself on the back because now I think, man, I think, man. Yes. I'm ready to admit I think it's over, bro. I think it's over. It's a hell of a redemption story because Connor, you remember Connor was,

he was the man of the Irish people. Like, do you remember some of those early fights? How many, like the whole damn country would come to Vegas from when Connor would fight. It was insane. And then kind of like people kind of got sick of his act and, you know, he's always just up to shenanigans. He had to fight with the old guy.

He hit the old guy. He punched the old guy. That type of stuff. But now he's going to be a hero of the Irish people because, you know, he's going to be a populist leader for the country of Ireland. It seems like that dude's getting elected president. Next go around for sure. Bro. He's going to be a president, is it a president, prime minister?

I don't know what they have over there. That man's going to be the prime minister of Ireland next time around, bank on it. No, you're crazy. But like, I think I'm ready, Ben. I think I'm ready to admit. done, bro. It's like he made, he made Michael Chandler. He made Michael Chandler wait all that time, never fought him. Charles Olavera seems or was saying he'd rather fight Cona McGregor than even fight for the championship. Yeah. Charles O'Levara now openly goes, I think it's over.

But it feels like everybody is kind of coming over to the side of I think kind of McGregor's done. But when you see that, Ben, and we joke about it, right? We joke about Kamala Gregg's done, Conner's this kind of, but is it sad that a guy that came on and he was a lightning rod and he brought so many eyes to the sport of mixed martial arts? Is it kind of sad that it is that way? I get it. He's at the White House and he might have some big things.

I can't, dude, I'm not buying it to the fact that Conner's going to be a politician. Forget that. I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. I'm not doing that man I'm just not doing that but it's kind of sad that like it ended the way it did I'll say yes and no

you know who knows maybe he turns a corner unless he's been doing some shenanigans but maybe he turns a corner and becomes a great leader of Ireland that could be a great second act for him there's been other fighters or sports people who have become great business people but yeah you know I was talking to a younger fighter

the other day about how how fast it goes. And I mean, you're kind of crazy because you didn't start until you're 31 or something, which is totally wild. But it is like your prime

for most people to say like 30 to 35. And for a while, you feel like I got forever. I got forever. I don't need to rush these fights. And then, you know, for me, it's like, man,

I only fought 21 times. Like, I wish I would have fought more. I wish I would have been more active. And, you know, I never turned down fights. It wasn't really my choice that I wasn't super active

whether in Bellator won championship. But it does, it goes, by really fast. And so yeah, with Connor, he came, you know, so fast and so strong. And then it was just like layoff after layoff after layoff. And now he's like 36 maybe or something. Yeah. He's getting older. But even at that point, he could still fight. Probably he can't, you can't fight the small guys. But for me, it's kind of sad because it is. But it's like when a guy comes and he's that successful and he's that good, you hope that the last time you see him in the opposite, he's. And he's like, you hope that the

Octagon is him fighting even even if bro it's him losing you don't want the last memory of him in the octagon is him sitting on the ground with a broken leg yelling at Dustin Borier's wife was preposterous was that not it was the craziest vision I've ever seen right because yes it was almost like it felt like when he got here everything he did was fresh and new and it felt genuine and then he went to Nice Connor when him and Dustin fought in Abu Dhabi That was more preposterous

Than him Nice Connor Was more preposterous Than him Doing what he did after the fight with Dustin The second time Because he was holding Dustin's liquor

They were hugging each other It was the most odd thing I'd ever seen Because that's not what we had to come to expect McConnell McGregor He gets beat by Dustin Poye Then he goes all the way back To the other guy but even more to the right, he was more like,

he was more loud. He was more obnoxious. He was nasty, talking about Dustin's wife and all these things. He was more nasty. So then even that felt forced. And then when he broke his leg, he was sitting on the ground yelling and screaming, it was almost like he was a rich guy that didn't get his way

and there was nothing he could do about it. And he was acting out because of it. That's like a sad visual for me after all that he became to the, sport of mixed martial arts. Yeah, I mean, that was a sad ending. It would have been nice to see him get back in there and do something better. But yeah, so he fought, Danis looked up, he fought three times in 2015 and then three times

in 2016, right? So with the culmination being Eddie Alvarez fighting Madison Square Garden, winning his second title. But then it's been eight and a half years. How many times did he fought in the last eight and a half years after the Eddie Alvarez? Okay, so I'll tell you, he fought, could be Dustin Porrier, Dustin Portia three times. Then you forgot one.

Oh, Cowboy Soroni. Four times, four times eight and a half years. That's not very active. Too many layoffs. Yeah, the layoffs and the injuries and just like that life seemed to have got him. Like, bro, it's crazy because I'm telling you, dude, like, there was nothing like Connor McGregor. And even today, I didn't realize he was only 36.

I'm taking it back. I'm taking it back. No, you can't. I don't realize. No, I didn't realize he was only 36. He was going to be 37 in July. That ain't. I didn't realize he was only 36.

I thought he was older. That's not young, Daniel. You're a heavyweight, so you have different years up there. He's 36. I think he's fighting again. I don't think so. I think he, and I, okay. It'd be like William Wallace leading.

William Wallace, he's Scottish, though, not Irish, right? I'm twisted. I'm twisted. You know who William Wallace is? No, I don't know who William Wall. Oh, my goodness. You've got to watch some Braveheart. I don't know what that is.

Braveheart, the movie. What? No, I've never seen Braveheart? I've never seen Braveheart. Are you kidding you right now? I swear to God, I've never seen Braveheart. Oh my goodness. You got to go watch the movie.

I believe he's actually Scott is so hard. Okay, so I'm going to ask you a question. I'm going to ask you a question. Have you ever seen Ministers Society? I have, but it's bad. No, you haven't. Yes, I have. It was Chris Tucker.

No, you haven't. It's Chris Tucker. Am I right? Chris Tucker. That's Friday, dude. See, that's how I know. That's how I know. No, it's what I'm looking it up.

Braveheart. I was like, I was like, 16, Daniel. He got this stuff. 25 years ago. Yeah, when did Braveheart come out? When did Braveheart come out?

Yeah, but you're old and stuff. But it doesn't matter. It's like... That's the society. Are you sure it's not Chris Tucker? No, it's not Chris Tucker. Oh, yeah. It's Ice Cube.

You never see... No, it's not Ice Cube. Ice Cube is... Oh, who's busted now. Ice Cube is in Friday also. It's Samuel I'm looking at right now. I don't really know these dudes. It's Samuel Jackson.

It's with... Yes, it's with Cubigating Jr. Sorry. Hey, see, you can't ask me like, Everybody's seen Braveheart. When I grew up where I grew up, we watched Minnesota Society. You didn't. So stop acting, dude, like we all see or had the same experiences growing up.

He was Scottish. I looked it up. Scottish Warrior. I don't know. I just haven't seen Braveheart, but don't act surprise that I have. That's what Connor's going to do right now. You're so crazy. Hey, Ben, I have this next topic I want to talk to you about.

This is very important. Like, we're hitting, like, it's been so long. We're talking about topics that we talked about for it. a long time. Yes. But I want to tie this to this one. So did you see last week when ESPN, the pay-per-view thing was broken? Did you see that?

Oh, man. Hell, yeah. I was not good. That was bad. And I'm an ESPN guy. That was really, really bad to not be able to do pay-per-views, especially in the year where they're redoing the television rights, right? Yeah.

So everybody's like assuming that the UFC is going to Netflix and all this other stuff. my question to you is this though when the UFC sold I think it was 2016 or 15 it was the same year that and the ESPN deal started to come about I think it started in 19 but when the UFC sold it was in 2016

bro it's important to have your biggest stars available in those contract years right because then it makes people go I want to buy this for a massive number because I've got to have these guys. In 2016, when the UFC sold, UFC 200 was there. I fought in 2016 at UFC 200.

Brock Lesnar Fought. Kana McGregor fought three times. It was a year where the UFC... Ronda Rousey, no, she was... I think she was still there. I think she fought Amanda Nunes, after Amanda Nunes became the champion or had beaten Misha Tzu.

Kate, no. I think we want to get it. I'm going to look it up for it. But not that we want to get a business talk, but I actually think this is a fascinating topic. Yeah. I feel like UFC and there's been rumors that they're not even going to do pay-per-views anymore. Which would be crazy.

Which would be crazy because it's been such a staple. And for a while, it was such a like, this is what you're buying. If you're buying UFC, you're buying these. This is what you wanted as a fighter. Yes.

Yeah, you want the big pay-per-view points. Yo, Rondo was actually in 2016, too. So in that year, you had everybody. And John Jones and I were supposed to headline UFC 200. You had all these great fighters. So it was something you had to have.

Now, it doesn't seem like there are many of those people that you have to have. Yet, the UFC is as successful as it's ever been in the history of the UFC. Well, I would argue that was kind of Dana's plan.

It's kind of one I don't really like. I don't think it's positive for fighters. But, you know, Dana's plan forever has been to make the UFC this like ubiquitous thing. It is bigger. Yeah, no matter who's better. Yeah, when you turn on the UFC, you're going to see a couple good fights and there's a bottom

where at least this many people are fight fans and kind of regardless of who's fighting, they're going to tune in and watch. You don't need these big names every weekend because, you know, one of the things Dana hated the most and he fought against, and this is, I can't only, I can only imagine how many meetings him and Connor have that were contentious, but when

stars get big enough, they get leverage. And they say, well, no, I want this or I want that and we see it in boxing where these guys are making crazy money. Yep. And Dana never really allowed that to happen in the UFC. It's one of the reasons that the UFC is so profitable for them and the owners. But I would, I would argue, and I think, you know, pretty correctly that it is negative to the fighters. Okay. Like I was saying, though, this is like, this is talking like television rights and making the product valuable. With Pereira losing, right? Who's the biggest star and the person that you think drives papers,

for the UFC. But I would argue the UFC's past that. I would argue that the UFC is going to put on 40 shows a year. There's a person that still drives pay-per-view. Okay. Who's that? So heavyweight. Oh, I know.

We're talking about John Jones. Exactly. So how important is it now, right? How important is it now? Because the rumor was John Jones was going to fight Tom Aspinall in July at International Fight Week, the big blowout that will sell them boatload of pay-per-view as the deal starts to get to the end of the year. Yeah. John Jones just said three minutes ago that the window for fighting in July

against Tom Aspinall may be passing because he feels he needs six months to prepare. Well, you know what this is. This is exactly what we just talked about. What? A leverage. This is leverage. John Jones is saying, I know I'm the biggest star in the UFC right now. I know this is the biggest fight.

And I don't, right? Sometimes the biggest fight is not the biggest star. but in this case it's probably the same one. It's the biggest fight. The fight that we want to see the most. The only one that would be seconded is would be Toporiyya Mokachev. That's the only other one that is

right in the same level in my opinion. And so John Jones is saying, well, I want six months. But if you're going to, if you're going to make it four months, then I'm going to need a little more money. He said,

what do you think? How important is it, though, that the UFC makes this fight happen now? Well, I think this is what Dana has been fighting against. I don't, I actually don't think it's that important. And I think Dana has,

I think Dana has, I think Dana has, made a point over, I mean, this has been the last 15 years of trying to almost like quell the stars, trying to not let the stars get too big and like Connor got too big. Yeah, but see, I got to disagree a little bit. Why is that? Because I feel that they did everything to try to push you into the mainstream to make you a star.

That's why I was able to do the things that I did because they continuously pushed me in front of people to make me a star. And that's not me going, well, I'm a UFC guy. I love the UFC. I was the champion for a long time. So I know what they did for me as a champion to try and make sure that I was recognizable. Dude, I went, I swear the guy. How many times did you put Dana over the barrel, though, and say you want, you?

Right, because I think there's different, like, I know you. We did it the same day. You and I went into a deal to make a deal the same day. I know that. I said, I want X, Y, and Z. And they said, no. We talked about this. Why he said, yeah, I know, but we think of like a, so on the other side of this, you know,

you have a Francis Inganu, which had a very ugly dispute. Yes. You had Connor McGregor. You've had the Diaz brothers. You know, you've had many people. If I thought about it hard, I'd probably think of another three or four more. Yes. Especially earlier.

Like, Randy Couture was a huge one really early on. Tito Ortiz was a big one. And so you had these stars that were constantly just doing this with Dana because Dana didn't want them to have too much leverage. and get too big of stars, right? And so he probably knew you, I'm going to, I don't know if you're going to take this as a compliment or a dig. It is meant as a compliment.

You are smart. You are intelligent. You probably knew just how to push just enough to get mostly what you wanted, but not be a total asshole, you know? Yeah, I get it. I get it, Ben. Because some of these guys are unreasonable. They're saying,

Dana's thinking in his head, okay, they're getting paid $5 million. Dana's thinking, okay, he's worth, he's probably really worth $11 million. I'm just throwing numbers out here. and the guy comes back and says, I want 25. And he's like, oh, this is fucking ridiculous. Yes, yes, yes.

You know, I get it. Daniel probably said, I want nine. And he probably said, okay, well, he's worth 11. He asked for nine. Sure, great deal. Let's do it. Yes. Yes.

Yeah. And that's, but that's how negotiations go. Anytime you have a successful negotiation, both sides feel a little bit bad about the negotiation. Nobody's completely happy. A little bit good, too. You feel good about it, but you're like, I feel like I left something on the table. Yes.

And the company feels like we paid a little bit too much. That's what a great negotiation feels like. But at the other day, you go, well, I'm still pretty happy where I settled at, even though it wasn't exactly what I wanted. But, bro, if John Jones said public. Did you take that as a compliment or an insult that I said you were smart and reasonable and not like somebody. Here's the deal.

We lived in a world where we wrestled for $3,000 to win a tournament. So it's like for me. That's not sometimes. Yes, less than that if you didn't win the freaking tournament. You win the hardest tournament in the summer. Yeah. The U.S. open was three grand, bro. We were wrestling.

$3,000. I was coming to get $3,000 in the hell. And everybody wrestled. And everybody wrestled. It wasn't the U.S. Open of today. It was like number one to 10 was in that bracket. Yeah. So, yes, I could always call back to those $3,000 if somebody's offering me $3 million.

I'm like, well, I could go back to making $3,000 to wrestle, or coach wrestling and make $2,000. $6,000 a year if I'm lucky and feel happy about it. So yes, I had those experiences to call back on to make sure I stayed reasonable. But at the end of the day, those guys do deserve their money. And I do believe that because of the work that the UFC does, they are in a position to make that money. Granted, the fighting skill needs to be there.

You got to be the champion or you have no leverage. But once you get there, the work that's put in allows you to go, I need seven figures now. don't need that. But again, John Jones said publicly it would take $30 million, right? Now he's saying money talks, but time. I need time. I don't see that. I don't see to me, I look at that and I say, John doesn't really need that much time. John wants, John's asking for more money. He's saying, if you want to rush me, he said, I prefer six months. I would prefer. No, no, no, John literally said, I'll read it to you. Read it to me exactly. I'll read it to you. I'll read it to you. Exactly.

It said, John Jones wants six months to prepare for Tom Aspinall fight once it's locked in. Money talks, but it feels like if summer is the goal, it's starting to slip away a bit. Money's good. Like, even if you bring me the money,

the timing is what I need to fight this guy. Why? Do you think that he's just kind of steering into this whole, he just doesn't want to fight Tom Aspinall thing? because Tom Aspinall was celebrating after Pereira lost because he felt like John Jones could not use Pereira anymore as a crutch to try to make that fight. To Tom Aspinall 100%.

What'd you say? That was very helpful to Tom Aspinall. I mean, there's nothing else obvious. Like now it's Jones versus Aspinall. There's no other option. So yes, that was very helpful to him. I still think, I still see it that way. It's like, I mean, listen, you've done this.

You've done something with other people where you say, listen, here's what I want. and if you want me to do something that's a little more inconvenient for myself, then I want another 25% or I want another 30%. Like if you want me to inconvenience myself and fighting three and a half months

instead of six, then you're going to have to make it worth my time. But there is a number that's worth my time. Yeah. What do you think that number is for Jones? I mean, I don't know what his actual paycheck is, but I would say, you know, maybe he's asking for a 20, 30, 40% bump, something like that.

Do you think that John Jones is worth paying $15 million? I would have to know the exact metrics. I would probably say no, and I would go back to my argument. Only Connor, right? Only Connor would be worth paying $50 million. I don't even know. I mean, like, I don't even know. I had a $22 million gate whenever he pulled out of the fight with Michael Chandler on the pre-sale. Yes.

Well, so, okay, so there's obviously the gates, but I think what you see is, like you said, the TV deal is going to be much more lucrative than the key. Can you imagine? Well, so I think, I think they're saying is like they're probably going to a Netflix or, right, because that's the big rumor, is like, how many subscribers can we bring you, right? And so they're looking at like a total of how many people, how many unique people watch a UFC event

through the course of a whole year, which is all 40, all 40 events, you know? And that's probably what Netflix is paying on. So I suppose if there was one really insanely huge event, and to me that's Connor not John, right? John is. Well, John Aspinall could be that event.

Tom Aspinall could be a big one right where people who are Because you got to think of like you know what was a really annoying one that was that was kind of like this What? It's so annoying. Jake Paul Mike Tyson. Every dip shit on the street had some opinion about it like that they don't want they don't watch any boxing that was the only boxing fight. They watched the whole year. But they remember Mike Tyson from 1997 and there's this influencer kid.

They want to have some opinion. So it's like that is going to be a. unique buy who's not going to watch any other right so who who can cause unique buys for the UFC that that isn't going to happen otherwise to me that that's Connor or you know Brock Lester but he's not fighting he's not fighting anymore it's almost 50 I think but I think that they need to make this fight I think John's kind of steering into this John I think I feel like John likes to play into people going he's afraid of Tom Aspinall he doesn't want to fight Tom Aspinall when you and I've discussed this many many times he's not afraid of Tom Aspinall he'll fight

Tom Asplon. You believe. I said he would much prefer to fight someone else. That was my take last time. I remember, I'm mad. I was that, and I like Steepa,

so it drove me crazy that I had to, he Stepe hadn't fought in like four years. Yeah, it was over, bro. That was bad. That was crazy. So bad. He got to be so bad.

Oh, man. I really wanted to fight Tom Asper on that one. Yeah, that's, I think it's important. I think he's messing around with people, man. And, and I think it's fun for this dude

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Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a first people to do podcasts.

Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up? the name Hey Jonas, guys. I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was...

This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending. Opinions are flying. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source. The athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the TikTok podcast. podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jenchian win.

I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is. arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. Hey, bro, you know, I got shit on the other day. Because I said something about Alex Pereira. I said, I literally just said this. And here's my explanation, Ben, before I let you go. I said, I feel like we've kind of maxed out the weights at which he can go up, right?

Because his power is so great. At middle weight, it was ridiculous. Yes. And light heavyweight, it was still ridiculous. But guys could take shots. That's why like a little roundtree went so long before he actually went down, right? I said a heavyweight, especially after watching Ankleyev

kind of just stalk him. Yeah. We might have maxed out the weight at 205. He's too slim a little bit. Yeah. They were saying I switched up on the Lexperera. Is that a bad take? Is that a take to me?

I don't know that. Does that feel like me shitting on the Lex Pereira? Is that a bad take? No. And I don't think, I mean, we've done the show for a couple years. I don't think you ever said that Alex would do well against John Jones or Tom Aspinall.

I think we always said that was probably not a great fight for him in both those cases. Yeah, and they're just too big. They're just too big. Like, dude, Tom Aspinall is massive. I saw him in England. I was like, well, this dude is huge. Big old shoulders, big chest, big legs. He's got, like, he's just a big guy.

And I was not crapping on Pereira. Why are people like this, bro? And ESPN has been getting your boy lately, dog. They take my stuff from jail night show And they take like a graphic And they put the words Oh yeah They take it totally out of con

They do that with this show too to me They put the words You know This show gets you clipped off so much It's crazy The stuff that you say I see everywhere Because they take the words

And not the actual video Of you explaining what you're saying Because the words leave a lot For the fan to interpret And the fan generally will go I've been asking really does suck I know it's so dumb So dumb

Hey before we go We got the NCA's week I just want to know I want to see your reaction How pumped were you when Wyatt Hendrickson Got Oklahoma State the conference title We were in bro we were in the conference

You and I were texting And we were talking about You said The support the Cowboys I go I never stopped You go well it got to be much funer this year Then it's been in years past But we were in the midst of going 04

And it was dude We were 0 for 3 when we started texting. No, we were 0 for 3 when you started texting. Because I was texting you about Keegan. I was like, dude, you must be so proud. Because the dude's on one leg. They're dudes on one leg, essentially. He's number one scene in the NCAA tournament.

And I knew Dustin Plott was about to get beat by Parker Kekheyes. I knew it. So I was like, now we're over for. Server is wrestling. I was like, okay, server's got to get it done. We need one win. Nuber gets beat. So then I go dark on you.

You're texting me. I go dark on you. I'm nervous. I'm nervous, right? Bro, when he won. So he starts winning. What about when he got hurt, though? Then he thought, oh, crap.

He gets reversed by Colton Schultz. And then he gets hurt. I'm like, oh, my God. That would have been the biggest. That would have been the, dude, O for six in the finals would have been crazy. The fact that we won the Big 12 championship and by the skin of our teeth, for that matter,

makes people ignore how horrendous a final round, Oklahoma State had. Who had one for six in the finals, Ben? That's nuts. Not so good. But I mean, they had a great tournament. I mean, the finals weren't great to your point, but it was a really good tournament,

and they're kind of in pretty good spots. I don't think anyone can come very close to Penn State. They're going to beat everybody about 100 points again. They're going to win by a lot, I would imagine. They didn't have a great big 10 finals either. But I think the battle is who's going to take second? Iowa has a great shot even though they had terrible big tens.

They had a terrible big tens, horrible, awful. Crazy. And then, you know, Oklahoma State looked good. Nebraska looks really good. Nebraska is good. They're really good. Hey, Nebraska at number nine

versus Lillodal is a tough. That's a good match. Hey, but you know the thing about Lillado? He's like, he's not like a scared freshman anymore. He's going forward. He's wrestling the way he can. That dude might win it. The national tournament is lucky that Richard

Figueroa is on his side. Because Figueroa is a gamer in the biggest. He lost to a terrible pro. I don't know if you saw that. That was a big one. No, that kid was not good. Figueroa. No offense.

No, Figueroa is a gamer in those big moments. Yeah. Listen. But Nebraska's good at 25s. They're good. They're good at 41. 49.

They're really good. Antro Taylor's really good at 57. 74's tough. 84's. is tough. 97's tough. Yeah. Heavyweight is not good.

Not very good. You know, were you surprised at how bad, hey bro, were you surprised at how bad Gable beat up on the Greg Kirkley? Because there was a clip of like Carter Staratchi and Bulldickley. I saw it.

Well, you know, posted that. Gabe posted it. Yes. Yes. Were you surprised? No.

You know what's funny. We're talking wrestling now. Let's, let me get your take on this is, uh, I thought he would win. I thought maybe it would be a little more competitive. I didn't think it was going to be like,

I didn't actually think Kirkland had a chance at winning. Gable, I said this. I was on flow the other day, and I think you could make a strong argument about him being the second greatest college dress of all time. He's just so much better than everybody. Everybody, where he's the best, bro. He's the best.

I love watching him compete. He's so strong. He's not like the overly tall, but like he's, you can tell he's a man now. And he's like, just playing with these dudes. Just give me so far. I cannot wait to get to. The one thing I was sad about, though, is I really wanted to see him.

I wanted to see him in the World Championships against Zaree for a few years. And he, you know, he's been doing his other things. So hopefully he wrestles the world championships here. That's the problem. That's the problem. Like, coming back to college and doing that is fine. The world championships will be much more difficult because the guys are just way better. He might go fight too.

And honestly, how fast could he be the UFC champion? Like one year, I think. No, dude, you're crazy. because dude, I think he'll do fine. You don't see the way he manhandles everybody? The only thing that gives me, like, is Boe Nickel. It's like, Bo's gotten so much better, but Bo's still needs a little time.

And I feel like Gable would be in the same type of situation. Just because his style isn't, like, double legs and stuff. He can't just like, he's, like, kind of setting them up with his hands, and you don't really have the ability to use your hands to set people up in fighting. You know, the, I mean, my counterpoint to that would be, for a heavyweight and especially for a heavyweight wrestler, his footwork is so good. Oh my God,

his footwork is so good. Yeah, I'm like the biggest Gable Steven fan. I swear to God, they're like, it's bad. And then I heard that AJ Ferrari, somebody told me,

gun to my head, if I had to pick a champ at 97, it's Ferrari. That's the all this time. Somebody goes, he can ride really good, and he's hard to get taken down. They said, gun to my head,

I'm picking up. in Ferrari to win 197. This is crazy, bro. To me, this is the best time of the year. Like, I don't know how people hate that I do this, because I love wrestling. People hate that I go to wrestling. With, yo, I love wrestling.

It should make me excited. You and I spoke for 30 minutes about other stuff. I don't have this type of energy for anything else. But wrestling, I love wrestling. It is crazy. I love, like, the broken. Well, listen, remember, don't get distracted and just have chit,

at with Jordan Burroughs. People want you to talk about wrestling and if they don't, they're going to be mean to you on Twitter. I really don't care if they're mean to me. They're probably getting mad at me like, Jordan, Jordan was bothered. Jordan was bothered by that. I don't know. I said, I don't care, man. I said, people never like me, so I'm used to it. Hey, they like you so it feels different when they don't like you.

Hey, why don't you come and call a couple matches with us? Well, I told you, maybe I'll come Saturday night. I'll call ESPN. All right, Ben, I'll let you go, my guy. Hey, enjoy the national tournament. Guys, another episode of Funkin, the champ from Ben Asker. I'm Daniel Cormier. Peace. Hey, guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe.

I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it.

But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive.

I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lerabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now, and I actually can win on any surface.

Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcast presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey.

And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer?

They had a bogo. Well, then you got them. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.